Corner Office to the Oval Office? Execs Say No Way

Plenty of corporate executives think they’d be better Oval Office residents than the current crop of Washington leaders. But few actually want the job.

According to a new Korn/Ferry International survey, 65% of the 120 senior business executives polled say they believe a corporate CEO is as skilled as or better than a candidate with a traditional political background. But only a quarter of those executives said they’d be interested in heading to Washington, D.C.

The respondents said that CEOs are well-suited for political leadership positions because of their ability to negotiate and compromise, with more than three-quarters responding that such skills are “critical” for a U.S. president. (See WSJ’s CEO Council member list for some such corporate leaders.)

But believing they’re qualified isn’t enough. CEOs may shy away from public office for fear of risking their established reputations in the private sector. A few – John Snow, Hank Paulson and Paul O’Neill, for starters – have made the move into unelected advisory or policy-focused government positions, with mixed results.

Success is “much more ambiguous” in politics, says Ana Dutra, CEO of Korn/Ferry International’s leadership and talent consulting team. The definition of success is “much narrower” in the corporate world, with fewer competing constituents, she says. Maintaining voters’ confidence is considered more difficult than maintaining the confidence of shareholders and directors – 56% say voters are harder to please – the executives said.

Senior executives are hardly enamored of Washington these days, which helps explain why one-third of respondents agreed with the statement that Congress moves “only according to political party interests.” CEOs are trained to make impartial decisions for the good of their company, but recognize that lobbying and politics muddy Congressional leaders’ decisions, Dutra says.

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